Railway ditching-machine.



H. P. SINK. RAILWAY DITGHING MACHINE.

APPLIGATIO'N FILED MAR. 9, 1912.

Patented Dec. 16,1913.

5 SHEETSSHEET l.

H. F. SINK.

.RAILWAY DITOHING MACHINE.

. ywwlio'a 177386715 APPLICATION FILED MAR. 9, 1912.

' Patented Dec. 16, 1913.

5 snnsws-gnnnw 2Q H. P.. SINK.

A, RAILWAY DITOHI'NG' MACHINE. APPLIGATIQN FILED-MAR. 9, 191 2.

5 SHEETS-SHEET naw H; SINK. RAILWAY DI' ICH ING MACHINE.

APPLIOATION FILED MAR. 9, 1912. I

Patented Dec. 16, 1913.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

wi/lmeooeo H. F. SINK.

RAILWAY DITGHING MAGHINB.

APPLIOATIOH IIYLED MAR. 9, 1912.

1,081,632. fatenta Dec. 16,1913.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 5.

' To all when it.may:n0em-:.

HENRKF. smngonennnnsnonoanomncanomnn...

' nnnlwarmrcnme-mom'nnr inoencsa.

Bent-known that :1; liENRY F; SINK-y. A a citizen of the United States,residing at Greensboro, in the=county-of Guilfordand State of NorthCarolina, have invented oer, taim new and useful Improvements inRailwayDitching-Machines, GfZWhlCll the-fol,- lowing is a. specification; p p

My invention relates towekcavatingrmar. chines, and particularlytomachines forem: cavatingvtrenches, ditches-oroth'ercutstbeside'arailwaytrack'.

The primary object ofmytinventioncisvatorof =thistype. with alongitudinally ex.

tending conveyer for therexcavated material, WhlCh-BOHVGyGP shall "becapable of: run nine; in opposite directions in order that the excavated1 material may be discharged ateither end 1 of the superstructureupon:which the conveyer ismou-nted I A furthenobiect is-to provide a machineinwhich the excavating shovel I or "scoop-is movable inward 0routwardtoward-or from the wheelstructure-oni.-which itis mounted, also movablevertical-1y, v and also; rotatable in a vertical- -'plane to changetherinclination of the shovel.

' A further objectinwthisconnection-is to members movable odilyoutward-to projectt-heshovel to anydesired'extent; or; movable-- upwardto 'a- -position-against the -sid ofth'e wheel supporting structure.

Other'objects will bestated in the-follow ing specification;

n m ed" entQfimY' invention; nine accompanying drawings 1 trated. inthe" wherein":

Figure 1" is a 'sideelevation of an-exca-f vating-- machine constructedin accordance with my invention." Fig;- Z'isa planview off'the'machineshoWn-ingiFi 5 Fl 3' isa-fi'ont eli'evation-- on an en? 4struotnredsasupported fa iplatfmnand pref- .jerablythe enginww orothenmotorfenop oratirigrthe variousinstrumentalities =h'eneafit'errefirred to;is monntml upon this platsimply-be usedfor the---specificationjomae raeue PatentedDeo.16,1913; a ncaeansieamonaueiesSerial nacsase'n the machine-shown in Figs; l and Fig. 4 is afragmentary sectional elevation enlarged of one-half of theexcavatingmachine Fig-. 5 a perspectivedetail 'view of the frame of themachine, the conve'yer for carrying excavatedmaterial fiom-the shovel tothe main: conveyor, and the mechanism where'- by thesecondaryconveyen-is supported and actuated; Rig: 6 is *afragmentaryvertical 5 section; on'theli'ne 6--6-' oi Fig; 7 showing the meansfomd-rivingthe auxiliary elevator op, era-ting shaft. Fig. 'Ffisasectional plan- View otaportionof the superstructureshowing the means:for slidingly supporting the extrem- A ltyof *the -shovelsupportmgzbeam, and the means fe -drivin the conveyor actuating shaftsof theauxiliary conveyors.

Correspondingand likeparts are referred toin the following'descriptionand indicated inall theviews of 'the; accompanying dravw in hy'th'e samereference characters.

y lmproved excavating mechanism is vsupported upon aWheeledsuperstructure comprisin a supporting frame mounted upon truci s2 and including oppositely disposed, longitudinal beams' extending theentire length of the supporting structure; truck supportedbeams 4 and 4"at each endof thestructure, vertical framingmembers -5 oppositelydisposed, intermediate vertical members-6 extending nearly tothe"roadbed longitudinal members 7; vertical supportingbeams 8, anddiagonal bracing members 9,

Ibwill' be -understood that'this-struoturema 9 I be changed in a lage-variety; of 'waysan yetcompletely fulfil its motion of support ingthe excavating apparatus:

Upon the b'eams at one eml oi tliesuperform The engine -10 11121 be-usedasa motwo power for the--- excavating machine" it seli a's w-ell as athemotive'powcr for the-excavatingmeohanism, orwthe engine .10 may gpose ofhoisting ms as hereafi'er or. lowering' theshovel described! FS'upporteduponathe braces-9* and 99-is-a conveyer-casing or framedesignated 11, and supported on oppositely disposed rollers 12 "and 12in this=casing or frame is anendless conveyerlbelt 13'which may-beslatted or not as-maybedesired. The rollers 12 ,and 12 are drivenby-rneans-=o&sprocketWheels 1 1-,

1a mounted upon the shaftsoi the rollers 12 and 12 Connecting thesesprocket wheels 14, 14 is an endless sprocket chain designated 15. Theshaft of the roller 12" is also-provided with a'sprocketwheel 16 whichis connected by means of a sprocket chain 17 with a sprocket wheel 18driven irom the engine inany suitable manner. It will be understoodthatI may use either As will be seen from Figs. land 2, the

beams 6 support vertically'exten'ding guides.

. Between-the forwa'rd'verticai beams 6 and the middle vertical beam 6there is disposed a vertically sliding frame designated 20,"and

between the rear vertical beams 6 and the intermediate vertical beam 6is disposed a frame 20 which is recisely the-same as the frame 20 heretoore described. These frames 20 and 20 are disposed respectively near oneside or the other of the car. The

frames 20 and'20 are approximately rectangular 1n iorm and are raised orlowered by means of screw rods 22 which pass down through beams 23 andhave screwthreaded engagement tl1erewith..land carry at their upper endsthe hand wheels 24, the lower ends of these screw rods being swiveled inthe top beams of the frames 20. By rotating the screwrods in onedirection the frames are raised, and by rotating them in separate beams2 g I 28Sand 29 are space'dfrom'each'other and the other direction, the'frames are lowered.

'llite is one of these frames 20 or. 20?, for 1 each of the shovel;supporting beams.

Transversely frames 20 and '20 are the oppositely posed slide beams 25and 25 which are suitably spaced from-each, other, and at theirouterendshave projecting ears 26 perforated for the passage ofa transverse pivotpin 27. -Moi1nt.ed'upon thepivot pin 27 so as'to have a pivotal movementin'a vertical? plane, is the shovel or; scoop supporting beam,- .Thisbeam is, a co1npoun'dbeam;

and composed as illustrated: of; ;three 8, '29 and The beams held inproper rigid relation bymcans of diagonal bracing struts an :passesthrough the three separate elements 28, 29 an compound rendered entirelyrigi one or a plurality of sprocket chains '17 for movable with relationto (pile 5 designated-31. The beam 30 is notas long as the beam 29 butis: riveted or bolted thereto andie then cut wardly' deflected andthen'xftended-i iiiward arallel to the inner endspfthe beams 28 d '29 asillustrated in Fig; 2,,1-The bolt 27- d 30. Thus t'he shovel. supportingbeam is thoroughly braced anfdjl d, the bearnBO forms ing a braceresisting any rearward move ment of the compound beam.

For the purpose of raising and lowering the free end'of the shovelsupporting beams, I provide the cables 32 which are each attached to theextremities-of the shovel supporting beams and pass upward and l oversheaves 33 supported in any suitable man ner upon the superstructure.These cables 32 pass over sheaves 34; and 35 and then extend downward toa drum 36 which is driven from the engine 10 or other motor.

Attached to the outer end of each of the beams 29 are the spaced ears37, and attached to the bottom plate 38 of the scoop or shovelsupportingbeam are the depending 42 which is provided with the upwardly extendingshank 43 which is shiftable be-- tween the cars 37,. This shank l3 isformed with a plurality "of perforations 44 through which a pin 45passes whereby the shank and thus permit the forward or cutting edge ofthe shovel to be raised or lowered and thusregulate the inclination ofthe out. It

projects rearwardly some, distance beyond thejshovel supporting beam andthat the "shovelis upwardly and rearwardlyinclined soTthat the rear endof itis spaced from the ground. y

As before stated, there are two shovels, one located on each side of themachine, two

shovel supporting beams projecting outward i a vertical; positionagainst the sides (if the move up'into this vertical osition bi-.. eansThesef -cables permit-the free ends .of the ing'beams may be adjustedoutwardly'or or each of the shovelsupthat operating thelscrew rods 22,the

cars 39 which are spaced from each other a' may be adjusted withrelation to the ears 37 the sides of the shovel or scoop is the yokewillbe seen that the rear end of the shovel fromuthe side hi themachine, and two verti 7 .car' when the shovel; is out. of operation, orwhenthecaris traVeling',- and that they may o'f'thecables32actuatediromytne dfihm'36. Y

.shovelsupporting; beams tobe lowered to *{any'd'esired position. Theshovel support .shiftedfiinwardly by operating .the hand;

ach of which hand wheels v ith mesh .of 'the vbeams 25 and 25*; It willalsobe'seen shovel may be lifted bodily or lowered bodily so as tosecure any desired depth of out below the level of the track, or tooperate on levels below the level of the track.

As a means for holding the shovel by beams rigidly in their adjustedpositions, I provide braces .which extend upward, one from the outer endof each of the shovel supporting beams, and which are adjustablyconnected at their upper ends to a portion of the superstructure. Thusin Fig. 4,- theshovel supporting beams are shown as provided with theupwardly projecting earsA9 through which passes a pin 49*, the pin alsopassing through the upwardly and inwardly extending brace rod 50. Thisrod passes through ears 51 formed upon a bracket 52 -bolted or otherwiseattached to the superstructure. A pin 53 passes through these ears. Theupper end of the rod 50 is formed with a plurality of perforations 54through any one of which the pin may pass. This brace 50 holds theshovel down and prevents the shovel and the shovel supporting beam from.rising when a cut is made. This brace 50 acts to make the shovelsupport particularly rigida most necessary feature where the shovel orscoop is submitted to great strain as'in an excavator of this type.

Extending upwardly and inwardly from each of the shovels is an elevatorwhereby the material excavated by the shovels will be carried upward anddeposited upon the conveyor 13. As illustrated in Figs. 1, 3 and 5, thiselevator is pivotally supported at its middle so that the lower end ofthe elevator may be shifted into proper position behind. and below theupper end of the corresponding shovel or scoop without regard to theposition of the shovel or, scoop, and also so that the elevator may beturned into a vertical or a horizontal position and drawn in against theside of the car when the car is traveling. As illustrated, the elevatorcomprises a trough 55 provided at its middle with the rearwardlyprojecting sup porting ears 56. Over this trough passes a flexible beltconveyer 57 which at the upper. and lowenends of the trough passes overrollers 58. The'shafts of these rollers carry upon them the sprocketwheels 59 and 60,

these wheels being connectedby an endless sprocket chain 61. Mounted inthe ears 56 is a transverse shaft 62 carrying atone end thesprocket'wheel 63 which meshes with the sprocket chain 61. The otherendof this shaft 62 carries upon it a pinion 64 which meshes with the gearwheel 65 mounted upon a shaft 66 supported in upwardly extendingbearings 67 mounted upon a rotatable table 68. It will be notedparticularly from Fig. 5 that the shaft '66 passes through the lbwerends of the cars 56 and hence constitutes a pivotupon which the elevatormay be turned in a vertical plane.

and which extend beneath the conveyers 57 Mounted upon the shaft 66 is abevel gear wheel 69 whlch meshes with a horizontally disposed bevel gearwheel 70 mounted upon a shaft which passes transversely through the baseor platform 68 and downwardly through a supporting beam 71.

On the under face of this beam 71 and mounted upon a the shaft 72 whichpasses through the gear wheel 70 is a bevel gear wheel 73 which mesheswith a bevel gear wheel 74 mounted upon a shaft 75 which extendstransversely of the machine and which is connected with the drivingmechanism as will be hereafter stated. The beam 71 is supported in aguide frame 76 whicherably the upper ends of the side walls ofthe frame76 are longitudinally grooved as at 78 and within these guiding groovesor tracks are disposed the bushings 79.: These embrace the rectangularbeams 71. and snugly fit the same but permit the beams 71 to be shiftedin or out as may be necessary.

It will'be seen that theconveyor or elevator is mounted upon the shaft66 as upon a horizontally disposed pivot so that the conveyer may berotated in any desired vertical plane, and that by reason of, the .fact

that the base 68 is pivotally mountedupon the extremity of the beam71,.theelevator may be rotated in any desired. horizontal plane. Furtherthat the beam 71 is longitudinally shiftable and hence that the elevatormay be shifted out or in nearer to'or farther from the side of thesupporting structure. Again, it will be seen from Fig. 5

that the elevator and its supporting struc-r ture as a whole arelongitudinally shiftable with relation to the car platform. By thisadjustment, it is possible to cause the lower end of the elevator to bedisposed at all times beneath the rear endof the corre sponding scoo orshovel so that it will re-. ceive the ve'xca ated material from the scooor shovel and carry it Tipwardand deposit it upon the conveyor belt 13.In order to provide for the deposition of the excavated material uponthe conveyor belt'13, I have provided as shown in 3 the laterallyprojecting-hoppers 80 which are supported in any suitable manner fromthe trough 11 the upper ends of For the purpose ofactuatingthe'auxiliary elevators throughthe medium of the shaft 75, Iopefratively connect the shaft 75 with the main conveyerchains 15 sothat said shaft 7 shall be driven from the main conveyer chains, whichin turn are driven from the engines by means of the sprocket chains aspreviously described.

Extending transversely across the superstructure and mounted thereon inany suitable manner is a shaft 81 which carries upon it a sprocketwheel82 over which the upper and lower flights of the, chain passes.

Also mounted upon the shaft 81 which car-' ries the sprocket wheel 82 isa sprocket wheel 83, and supported in the lower portion of thesuperstructure and in any suitable bearings upon the beam 7 isacountershaft 84 Which carries upon it a sprocket wheel 85- connected tothe sprocket wheel '83 by means of a sprocket chain 86 whereby power istransmitted from the shaft 81 to the shaft 84. This shaft 84 alsocarries upon it a sprocket wheel 87. Over this sprocket wheel 87. passesa sprocket chain 87 which extends longitudinally of the machine andengages with the sprocket wheels 88 mounted upon thecounter-shafts 88,these counter shafts being disposed immediately below the shafts 75 ofthe two elevators. Each of i the counter-shafts 88 is provided with aspur gear 89 which meshes with a spur gear 75 on theshaft 5. The shaft75 is splined or feathered to the spur gear 7 5 so that it maylongitudinally shift relative to the gear 7 5 the gear wheel beingsupported in suitable bearlngs so that it can not have any move menttransverse to the superstructure. In

order to drive the shaft 75 for the other auxiliary elevator 0n theother side of the machine, the sprocket chain 87* passes over thesprockctwheel 88 corresponding to this elevator, which in turn ismounted upon a beams, 71 which carry the auxiliary ele vators are alsodrawn in to their'fullest extent and the elevators extended upwardagainst the side of the superstructure, thus permitting the excavator topass through tunnels and beneath the superstructure of bridges When itis desired "touse' the excavator,

the beams 30 carrying the shovels or scoops on either one or both sidesof the machine are shifted outward to any required extent,

the beams 30 being lowered to a proper position by means of the drum 36and the cable 32. When the beam is in the proper p'osi-' tion to providethe proper depth of cut, the' braces are adjusted in the ears 51 so asto hold the free end of the shovel beam and prevent its rising. It willbe understood of course that the inner end of the shovel beam may beraised and lowered to any required extent by means of the screw 22 andthat the shovel beam may be projected or retracted to any desired extentby means of the pinion 17 and hand wheel 46. The shovel may be adjustedto a greater or less inclination by means of the link 42 as heretoforedescribed so as to vary the angle of cut. After the shovel beam andshovel have been adjusted, the auxiliary elevators are shifted outwardto proper position and rotated until the lower portion of the elevatoris immediately beneath the rear end of-the shovel, the up per portiondischarging into the chute or hopper 80. The machine is now ready forwork and in order to be used it is only necessary to drive the carforward, whereupon the shovels will scoop up the earth on each side ofthe track. This earth will be carried up by theauxiliary elevators anddischarged into themain conveyor. This main conveyer it will be obviousmay be shifted in either direction by means of suitable clutchesconnectedzto the driving shaft of the sprocket wheel 18, and by thismeans the earth carried up by the auxiliary elevators may be dischargedeither at the front or rear end of the excavator.

It will be noted that the shovel beams are braced against the strain ofcutting, and

that the compound beam which supports the shovel is of particularlystrong and rigid construction and, furthermore, that the shovel beam isbraced from any upward movement by means of the brace 50.

The frame 76 upon which the elevator is supported may be shiftedlaterally in any suitable manner but as illustrated is shifted laterallyby means of a screw operated by a hand wheel, this screw engaging ascrew threaded member 91 projecting below the frame 7 6.

For the purpose of shifting the beams 71 outward or inward, I mayprovide the upper portion of each beam with the rack teeth 92 and mountupon the upper face of each of'th'e casings 7 6 a shaft 93 carrying aspur gear 94; which meshes with the rack 92, this shaft being operatedby means of a hand wheel 95 or in any other suitable manner.

' What I claim is:

1. An excavator of the character describedincluding a wheeled frame,oppositely disposed, laterally projecting shovel supporting memberspivotally mounted at their inner ends, said'members being laterallyslidable on the wheeled frame, and means for laterally sliding saidmembers to adjust the same.

2. An excavator of the character described, including a wheeledstructure, a ver v ing the.free' end of the tically slidable membermounted on the wheeled structure, a shovel supporting beam, memberstransversely slidable in the vertically slidable member and pivotallyconnected to said beam, and means for supportshovel supporting beam. j

3.An excavator of the character described including a wheeled structure,vertica guides mounted upon the structure,' a

vertically shiftable frame movable in said guides, a'screw for raising"saidframe, laterally extending racks mounted in said frame and slidablelaterally, gearing whereby said racks may be operated through the frame,a shovel supporting beam pivo'tally connected to said racks, and meansconnected to said structure and to the extremity of the shovelsupporting beam whereby the free end of the beam may be supported at anydesired elevation.

4:. An excavator of the character described, including a wheeledstructure, vertically and horizontally adjustable shovel supportingbeams mounted on the wheeled structure and projecting laterallytherefrom,

a main conveyer mounted in the upper pormembers,

tion of the structure and extending horizontally therealong, andlaterally adjustable auxiliary conveyers supported on each side of thestructure and coacting with the shovels and with the main conveyer.

5. An excavator of the character described, including a wheeledstructure, oppositely disposed, laterally projecting shovel supportingmembers mounted on the structure, means for raising and lowering saidshovels supported on and depending from the outer ends of said members,a main conveyer mounted on the structure, and auxiliary conveyerscoacting with the shovels and the main conveyer to carry the excavatedmaterial from the shovels to the main conveyer, said auxiliary conveyorsbeing shiftable transversely and rotatable in vertical planes.

6. An excavator of the character described, including Wheeled trucks, asuperstructure mounted upon the trucks, rolls supported in theupperportion of the sulaterally projecting-shovel supporting beams carried bythe structure, ,means for raising and lowering said beams, means forshifting the beams laterally, shovels pivotally mounted upon the ends ofsaid beams, auxiliary conveyers disposed rearward of the shovelsupporting beams and pivotally mounted for movement in horizontal andvertical planes and adapted to carry material excavated from saidshovels u ward and into the main conveyer, and mec anism for operatingthe main conveyer and the auxiliary conveyers.

7. In an excavator of the character described, a wheeled structure, alaterally projecting shovel supporting member having forwardlyprojecting ears, a yoke supported upon the under face of said supportingmember and engaging the shovel, and a link adjustably connecting theforward end of the shovel with the shovel supporting member.

8. In an excavator of the character described, a wheeled structure, anexcavating shovel supported therefrom and projecting laterally, anelevator frame, an endless belt carried on the frame, said elevatorframe extending upward from beneath the rear end of the shovel, alaterally slidable supporting member mounted on the frame, a yokerotatably mounted on the member for move ment in a horizontal plane, ashaft forming a pivotal support for the elevator frame, a conveyeractuating shaft mounted on the frame and having gear wheels meshing withthe gear wheels on the first named shaft, a bevel gear for operatingsaid first named shaft, a driving shaft supporting on said laterallyshiftable member and meshing with said gear Wheels, and means on thestructure for driving said shaft.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

HENRY F. SINK. [n s.] Witnesses:

A. J. SYxEs, R. E. DALTON, Jr.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner latents,

- .Washington, D. C.

